The complexiTy of resource governance in a conTexT of sTaTe ... - Ipis

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34 International Alert Sakima, the state-owned enterprise responsible for the former Sominki cassiterite concessions, is tolerant of Kalima’s creuseurs and artisanal extraction has become a fait accompli. Sakima has no intention of reversing this situation because it is unable to restart industrial exploitation and thousands of diggers depend on small-scale mining for survival. Sakima is not involved in the commercialisation of the artisanal ore, but charges US$0.15 per kg on the cassiterite négociants buy from its concessions. 102 Another company active in Maniema’s mining sector is Générale des Mines au Congo (Gémico), founded by Aaron Shabani Asumani, a local businessman. Shabani ran for the post of provincial governor in the June 2010 elections, and was one of the founders of Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Mouvement de Libération du Congo. 103 In the second part of 2006, Sakima leased several exploitation permits to Gémico in Lubutu (Tshamaka and Ntufia), Punia (Saulia, Ona-Kasese and Bilu Kamabea) and Pangi (Kampene), in a bid to relaunch mining activity. 104 The agreement was soon disputed by Central African Resources (CAR), a subsidiary of Kivu Resources, which was created in January 2007 and owns Mining Processing Congo (MPC) and Metal Processing Association (MPA). 105 CAR signed an agreement to take over the management of Sakima’s cassiterite concessions in 2003. When Sakima subsequently started to lease exploitation permits to other companies, CAR claimed it was not entitled to do so because of their previous agreement. Sakima rejected the argument on the basis that CAR had not honoured its own undertakings and had failed to launch any operations on the ground. 106 The Ministry of Mines and the Commission de revisitation des contrats miniers backed Sakima. 107 The agreements between Gémico and Sakima provoked conflicts with artisanal miners, who were forbidden to mine and trade cassiterite by the local authorities, further hampering Gémico’s activities. 108 Furthermore, the company was disappointed by the extent of the deterioration of infrastructure on Sominki’s former concessions. It proved impossible to develop industrial exploitation immediately, as Gémico had hoped. Disappointed investors quit, and the company decided to concentrate solely on commercialising artisanal ores. 109 Gémico’s imposition of fixed prices for ores on the local markets, judged too low by artisanal miners, led to a further loss of local support. 110 In early 2009, the UN reported that company employees were being forced to quit by Mayi Mayi Simba, who wanted to open their own trading business in Lubutu. 111 As well as exploration and exploitation activities, Gémico owns a comptoir in Goma. Traxys SA, for instance, seems to have been buying cassiterite from the company. 112 CEEC statistics indicate that Gémico exported 60,348 kg of cassiterite from Maniema in 2007 and 149,000 kg 113 between January–April 2009, after which it ceased production following rebel attacks. 114 Another dispute hampering industrial mineral extraction in Maniema involves La Quinta Resources, a Canadian mining company that has been in the DRC since 2006, and has been 102 Interview, Sakima director Feruzi Mukonde, June 2010. 103 IPIS, Culprits or scapegoats (2009), op. cit. p. 12. 104 RDC Ministère des Mines Commission de Revisitation des contrats miniers Rapport des travaux, November 2007, p.172. 105 MPC is an important Goma-based cassiterite and coltan comptoir with a comptoir in Kigali and tin smelter in Gisenyi. According to Global Witness, the latter is no longer fully operational. Kivu Resources, Fact Sheet, September 2007; Global Witness, ‘Faced with a gun, what can you do’, July 2009. 106 G. Mthembu-Salter (2009), op. cit. 107 RDC Ministère des Mines Commission de Revisitation des contrats miniers (2009), op. cit. pp. 184-187 108 Africa Mining Intelligence, Tin: Local inhabitants shun Gemico, 6th June 2007 109 Interview, Maniema Libertés, Kindu, July 2010. 110 Ibid. 111 Confidential written UN source. 112 IPIS Culprits or scapegoats (2009), op. cit. 113 In OCC, Exportation 2009, 147.254 kg of cassiterite are mentioned. 114 CEEC, Statistiques Générales 2007-2009, op. cit.
The complexity of resource governance in a context of state fragility: An analysis of the mining sector in the Kivu hinterlands 35 operating in two concessions in Maniema. The 49-km 2 Kampene project, leased from Association Miniere du Kivu sprl (AMIKI), involves an exploration licence and a small miner’s licence to mine and commercialise the concession’s minerals, which include gold and cassiterite. 115 Another La Quinta project comprises 32 exploration licences over an area of 7,010 km 2 situated between Banro Corporation’s Lugushwa and Namoya projects in the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt, and extending 120 km to the west. BelgikaOr mined the area before decolonialisation, mostly exploiting alluvial gold, but it remains largely unexplored. The permits are currently owned by Wa Balengela Kasai-Investments Congo sprl (WBK), a Congolese company which signed a Memorandum of Understanding with La Quinta in August 2006 to create a joint venture(JV) to explore the area. 116 The agreement has been contested by Banro Corporation on the grounds that its Congolese subsidiary, Banro Congo Mining, had applied for the properties in 2003. WBK claimed priority on the permit on the basis of a ZER (zones exclusives de recherche) application, which it filed under the old mining code. Banro has disputed this claim. 117 WBK and La Quinta signed formal agreements after WBK received the exploration permits from the government in March 2008. 118 At the end of 2008, WBK demanded that the JV agreement with La Quinta be cancelled because the latter could not meet its financial commitments. The Canadian company responded that its lack of financial resources was due to the international economic crisis and that it was discouraged by political uncertainty in the DRC. 119 Banro Corporation is an important mining company in Maniema. It became financially involved with Sominki in the mid-1990s, buying out another shareholder in later years before negotiating a new deal with the government in February 1997 that gave it a 93 percent stake. During the war, Sominki was replaced by Sakima, and Banro ended in litigation with the government and the RCD rebellion over Sominki’s former concessions. On 18th April 2002, Kinshasa and Banro Corporation resolved their dispute with an agreement that gave the latter rights over 35 Sakima concessions, including the Twangiza-Namoya gold belt, while the cassiterite deposits remained in the hands of Sakima, which became a 100 percent stateowned company. 120 The Namoya concession is located in the northern part of Kabambare territory. It is owned by Namoya Mining, a Banro subsidiary, and consists of an exploitation permit over an area of 174 km 2 . It comprises five ore bodies: Mwendamboko, Muviringu, Kakula, Namoya Summit and Filon B. There is no mineral exploitation in Namoya officially, but thousands of gold creuseurs are extracting alluvial and primary ore on the site illegally. 121 A local NGO claimed in 2006 that Banro was producing gold industrially at its Namoya concession and exporting the crude ore directly to Dar-es-Salaam. 122 Banro has been present in Namoya since December 2004, but denies the allegation and claims not to have completed the exploration phase. 123 115 http://www.laquintaresources.com/project_kampene.php 116 http://www.laquintaresources.com/project_south_maniema.php 117 The dispute has been covered in Banro’s press release, ‘Banro responds to statements regarding status of properties applied for’, 21st March 2007. La Quinta’s perspective can be examined in ‘La Quinta Resources Corporation: WBK commences court action against Banro sprl in Democratic Republic of Congo’, Marketwire, 2nd February 2007. 118 ‘La Quinta signs final agreements for the acquisition of 7,010 km2 in Maniema-South Kivu gold belt DRC’, Marketwire, 23rd April 2008. 119 ‘Canadian junior walks away from DRC JV’, Mining Weekly, 18th November 2008; ‘La Quinta works to re-negotiate terms of Congo joint venture, directors Bodika, Morton and Gee resign’, Marketwire, 4th November 2008; ‘La Quinta receives termination notice for Congo joint venture’, Marketwire, 18th November 2008. 120 D. Johnson and A. Tegera, Digging deeper: How the DR Congo’s mining policy is failing the country, Pole Institute, December 2005, p.35. 121 SENET, Preliminary assessment NI 43-101 technical report, Namoya Gold Project, Maniema Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Banro corporation commissioned report, 17 August 2007, p. 57. 122 Maniema Libertés (2006), op. cit. 123 D. Johnson and A. Tegera (2005), op. cit. p.37.
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